Tuesday, April 28, 2015

This post is to recap and assemble all information and discussion regarding the Texas Wilderness Ministry Family Day at Neiderhoffer Lake in the Sam Houston National Forest near New Waverly Texas 28 May - 1 June, 2015.

If this is your first visit here, or if this is the first you've heard of the Wilderness Ministry, we are a rather ad hoc group of Christian hikers, backpackers, and campers who use their hobby to bring Glory to God and to connect with Him through His Creation. Everyone is invited to our trips, just be prepared to listen to folks talk about God. We are non-denominational, and invite men, women, and children. We just ask those bringing children to be responsible for their children's safety and behavior. There is no charge and we do not expect donations. Occasionally a member may come up with an idea of how we may be a blessing to others or mention a need, but any contribution one makes to such causes is completely voluntary. Becoming a member is simple, just ask to join the Facebook Group linked to here (I told you we were rather ad hoc).

Usually our trips involve hiking to a primitive campsite, but we recognize that this activity is not one favored by all members of the Family, so we decided to have one that was more sedentary. This site is still primitive (there is no electricity or running water), but this is a car camping location and you don't have to go any further than the shore of the lake if you don't want to.

The Ministry part of the trip usually takes place as discussions around the campfire and during the meal, but we ask all participants to spend their time in Creation with open hearts so that they may hear God speaking to them, and to share if the Spirit moves them, so discussions may occur at any time.

Each trip has a theme, and we try to have one every 8 weeks. The theme for this trip comes from Deuteronomy 6, and is explained in the post linked here.

Neiderhoffer Lake is in the Sam Houston National forest and is available for use by groups through a permitting process. The maximum number of people allowed by permit is 20, and we currently have 10 people signed up for this trip. You can sign up for the trip by placing your name on the spreadsheet linked here. We will be having Pot Luck Dinners on both Friday and Saturday night, so please give us an idea of what you might be bringing as part of the meal(s). We will serve dinner at 8 PM each night. If you have any camping equipment that might be of communal use and are willing to let 19 other folks use it, please make note of that as well. We actually have 21 available spaces as one of those signed up on the spreadsheet will be leaving Saturday morning, so if you can't arrive until then, you can take his spot.

Thursday arrivals should expect to work. We will need to gather firewood, set up the camp, determine and mark off parking and camping areas, cache water for those who will be hiking on Saturday, site the sanitary and cooking areas, and anything else that might come up during the set up process.

Friday is "arrival day" for most folks, and most activity during the day will involve people coming in, some Fellowship, helping to set up, and catching up with friends.

On Saturday there will be a totally voluntary hike of about 4 miles. We will be scouting locations and accessibility of Forest Service approved campsites to be used during deer season. Water will be cached on the route on Thursday to insure everybody is properly hydrated. We will shuttle hikers over to the point where the LST intersects with FS200 as shown on this map and hike east to inspect the campsite at mile 51.3 to see if its suitable for group camping during deer season, continue east until the trail crosses FS206 where we will have some water cached, then to the intersection of the unofficial blue blazed Niederhoffer Branch trail shown on this map to return to the lake:

We're told that Niederhoffer is clean enough for swimming, the fishing is reportedly good, and some folks will be bringing kayaks.

To get to Niederhoffer, use this map to get to Four Notch Road near New Waverly, Texas. Then go to this map to follow FS200 to FS269. There is a gate with a combination lock on it and we will post the combination on the Facebook page about a week before the Trip.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

(6) These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. (7) Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (8) Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. (9) Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

What we'll be asking is for those who attend to find a Bible Passage that speaks to them and write or print it out on something and affix it to your tarp or tent, perhaps big enough so that folks walking by can see it. That will be the "Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." part of the event. Those passages will be what we'll talk about over the campfire after the Fellowship Pot Luck on Friday night. If you're not as familiar with your Bible as you think you might need to be, I'm going to ask folks on the Facebook Page to post a few suggestions. We're not looking for you to prove how well you know your Bible, or who can pick the best passage. This is not a Contest. No Prizes will be given (at least earthly ones). But if something speaks to you, we hope you share it with us.

On Saturday morning, we'll be giving folks passages from Deuteronomy and Leviticus of the commands given to Israel by God during their time in the Wilderness placed inside ziplock sandwich bags. We're going to ask that you "Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads." and wear them that way all day long. I'm going to see if I can find some wristbands and head bands for you to use, but right now plan on bringing something of your own. You can read them before you put them on, and during the day. We're also going to ask that you "Talk about them when you sit at home (inyour camp or around the campfire) and when you walk along the road ( or on the hike), when you lie down and when you get up. We'll also be discussing them around Saturday night's campfire.
None of this is mandatory. Most of us will be doing it as an expression of our Faith, but none of us will judge you if you choose to be an observer and just enjoy our company as much as we enjoy yours.
There will be a purely voluntary day hike on Saturday of about 4 miles. We'll be exploring the route from where the LST starts a road walk west of Bella Karolyi's Gymnastics camp on FS200 and hike east past the intersection of the LST with the 4 Notch Trail to find the Blue Blaze trail that heads back to Niederhoffer. Thursday volunteers may take that route out of Neiderhoffer to mark it where it intersects with the LST to make it easier to find and cache some water there.

Otherwise, enjoy the Fellowship, kayaking and swimming in Neiderhoffer, laying in your hammock, and just enjoying God's Creation.